Palestine
- 4.7 million
- population
- 32.7%
- of people are food insecure
- 68.5%
- of people in the Gaza Strip are food insecure
In Palestine, protracted conflict, economic stagnation and restricted trade and access to resources, coupled with high unemployment and poverty rates, continue to pose serious challenges to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 on zero hunger, food security and improved nutrition.
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, nearly one third of the population – 32.7 percent, or 1.6 million people – could not afford nutritious food. Food insecurity is high among women – 32 percent of families headed by women are food insecure – particularly in the Gaza Strip, where it is 54 percent.
What the World Food Programme is doing in Palestine
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COVID-19 response
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The COVID-19 crisis is having a damaging impact on an already constrained economy, making the lives of the Palestinian people even more challenging. Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs and livelihoods. Women, children, elderly people and those with disabilities are among the most affected and in need of humanitarian assistance, including nutritious and healthy food.
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Food assistance
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WFP provides the poorest and most severely food insecure non-refugee populations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with unconditional food assistance – predominantly in the form of electronic vouchers which people can use to buy food of their choice – and nutrition education to reduce vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
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Capacity strengthening
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WFP works with national institutions to enhance the capacity of social safety nets to assist poor and vulnerable people, and engages in new partnerships with the Government, other UN agencies and NGO partners around the use and further development of WFP’s voucher platform, which transfers assistance through an electronic card. The platform has proved to be an efficient, flexible and cost-effective tool, and has been made available to several partners.
In focus
Palestine news releases
Go to pagePartners and donors
Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in the State of Palestine is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:Find out more about the state of food security in Palestine
Visit the food security analysis pageContacts
Jerusalem
c/o UNDP/PAPP 4A Yakubi Street, PO BOX 51359 Jerusalem, Israel
Phone: +972 (0)2 5401340/1/2
Fax: +972 (0)2 5401227